Florence-Gene Ward Orr

1910 - 2011

NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. – Florence-Gene Ward Orr died Friday, June 10, 2011, in North Branford, Conn. She was 101 years old.

Called "Gybo" by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and "Gene" by her friends, she kept up with them and other relations until the last few months of her life. An enthusiastic dancer, canny card player and a sportswoman well into her 70s, she is remembered for her love of family, sense of humor, lively interest in athletic and political events, and devotion to her husband, Dudley Orr, who died in 2002.

The oldest of three children, Gene was born in Lawrence, Mass. on Feb. 19,1910, to Alma Gleason Oswald and Richard Ward. She attended the Brimmer School in Boston and later The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., where she was president of her class. In 1935, she married Dudley Wainwright Orr of Concord and moved to Concord where they lived for 62 years.
During World War II, she was a volunteer member of the Motor Corps and a Red Cross nurse's aide. As such, she worked in the Memorial Hospital and Margaret Pillsbury Hospital, both predecessors to the current Concord Hospital. After the war, she continued as a volunteer Red Cross nurse's aide and later worked as a volunteer at Concord Hospital.

Throughout her many years in Concord, Gene was an active member of the community. She was a Girl Scout leader, served on the Board of the Visiting Nurse Association, and was a trustee of the Rolfe and Rumford Home for Girls. She gave time to the Flower Mission, one of the oldest charities in Concord, and served on the Board of the Community Music Association.
She was a longtime member of St.Paul's Episcopal Church where she taught a course in religion for high school students, and was the first female member of the Vestry. She was a member of the Chilton Club in Boston and a Trustee of Saint Mary's in the Mountains School.

An avid figure skater, she gave skating lessons in White's Park in Concord.

Gene is survived by two daughters, Marjorie Orr MacIver Stein of New Canaan, Conn., and Carolyn (Lyn) Orr Mattoon of Sharon, Conn.; four granddaughters, Carolyn MacIver Millstein, Elizabeth MacIver Neiva, Daniells Mattoon and Ashley Mattoon; and eight great-grandchildren, Joanna, Natalie, Isabel, Christina, Gus, Nora, Mary Louisa and Andrew.

A Memorial Service will be held at St. Paul's Church in late August.